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Topic: Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC (Read 2824 times) previous topic - next topic

Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC

I have an 87 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with Premium sound and I'm trying to install a standard Sony CD player with a standard 2 plug wire harness.

My problem is, of all the wires on the new harness only 2 seem to match directly with the factory Ford harness in the car (the 12 Volt Battery wire and the 12 Volt Ignition wire).

There is no Ground wire coming through the factory Ford harness under the dash.  Rather there are 2 separate wires that connect directly to the back of the factory stereo.  There's a red wire that is bolted directly to the back of the factory stereo and to a bracket that clips to a metal piece in the dash, under the stereo.  There is also a black wire that kind of clips to the back of the factory stereo. Which of these 2 wires is the actual ground and what does the other wire do?

I have 4(+) and 4(-) speaker wires on my new standard harness.  The factory Ford harness only has 3 wires total on the speaker harness.  Looks to be 2(+) and 1(-).  What do I do about this?!?  If I just try to plug and play it the way it is, I couldn't imagine I could get six speaker sound this way.  What's the best way to go about this?

When I wired a CD player to my 93 Probe w/ Premium Sound (much easier, BTW) I had to use a third harness to bypass the factory amp.  Do I need to have a 3rd harness to bypass the factory amp for an 87 TBird TC with Premium sound?

Does anyone have a labeled radio wire diagram for an 87 Thunderbird TC with Premium Sound?

Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC

Reply #2 –
Thank you Red_LX.  That's what I was looking for.  The install should be much easier now.

The only thing I'm still unsure about is, does anybody know what the black wire that clips to the back of the factory stereo does?  I might have to get the test light and multi meter out and see if I can figure it out tomorrow.

Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC

Reply #3 –
the black wire should be the ground



hey is this the same for a 88 sport coupe cause i cant seem to find the  connection after this first connection

 If you follow  the two cables that were plugged into the stereo (which are black and grey) back into the dash a bit, you  will see that one of them is plugged into another cable. This is the KEY.... you unplug that connection...  plug the adapter from Wal-Mart that fits into THAT connection, not the identical one that you unplugged  from the stereo

that connection^^^^

if you have done it how far up the cable is it?

Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC

Reply #4 –
You might have to dig a bit, if I recall I had a hard time finding that second plug.

As far as that black wire goes...not sure if I remember.

Garrett H.
'94 F250 XLT- 4x4, 5 speed, 7.3 IDI Turbo Diesel, 4" intake, 4" exhaust, 5" turnout stacks, manual hubs, etc.
'87 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
Engine, wheels, tires, etc!
Exhaust sound clip
Another clip
 

Need help installing an aftermarket CD player in 87 TC

Reply #5 –
I finally got around to doing this.  The link a couple posts ago was dead on. 
The wire harness you need to dig for is @ a foot to a foot and a half deep into the dash.  If you're in past your elbow, you may have gone too far.
To answer my own question...If you only use the black wire as the ground nothing happens; the stereo won't even power on.  If you use only the red wire as ground the stereo will come on and the speakers will just hum/buzz, but no other sound.  I forgot that some older Fords had a common ground system for all speakers.  So you have to hook up BOTH the black wire and the red wire as the ground to get the CD player to power up and make sound.